DISD Parents Worried After Lead Found In School’s Water

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Community members in Dallas voiced concerns Tuesday about the water quality at South Oak Cliff High School. Members of the local NAACP joined parents at a news conference to discuss the recent discovery of lead and other contaminants found in the school’s drinking water.

The Dallas Independent School District had asked an environmental firm to test the school’s water earlier this year. A team of experts collected water samples from the campus, and the results were returned in late April. Those samples showed minimal traces of lead.

Experts said that the lead amount is below federal guidelines. “It’s safe to consume,” district environmental health and safety official Christopher Gray stated about the school’s water. “It’s nothing that should provide an alarm, or cause for alarm, and it is safe to consume.”

However, parents in the Dallas school district are not satisfied, and said that there was no notification about the water sample test results when they came back. There was also no plan put into place to protect the school’s students and staff members, the parents explained.

Concerned parents have asked DISD officials what is being done to improve the situation going forward, and have requested a meeting with facilities director Wanda Paul. They have also asked for free lead blood testing for students and staff members in the affected school buildings.

Problems like this have plagued South Oak Cliff High School over the last year. The campus is more than 60 years old, and has received recent complaints about bug infestations, broken air conditioning and heating units, and burst pipes. Students held a protest in December to bring attention to the issues, and community advocates have said that the campus is beyond repair.